New website is like Kickstarter for SC businesses

New website is like Kickstarter for SC businesses

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCIV) – A new website is helping small businesses in South Carolina raise capital through crowdfunding and investments.

The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday began taking applications for its two new web portals.

“There is a growing demand for small business loans that our financial institutions cannot meet for one reason or another,” said Frank Knapp Jr., the president and CEO of the South Carolina SBCC. “Our new portal will provide the marketplace for these small businesses to seek donations and investments for their business projects.”

The site, SCcrowdfund.com, is designed to help local businesses take off and build capital without waiting on an economic upswing. Instead, business owners can solicit people for donations or investments through the website.

Anyone will be able to make a donation to the businesses that join the site. However, only people with high incomes will be able to invest in companies. Those investments will be handled through a private portal.

Details on what qualifies as a high income can be found on the website.

SCcrowdfund.com will allow people to fund local businesses through three methods: donation crowdfunding, which is essentially gathering donations from the public for a project; private placement investments, in which accredited high income people can contribute for a share of equity in the business; and security crowdfunding, which when approved by the Security and Exchange Commission will allow people to invest in exchange for small shares.